Scaling Management without Sacrificing Culture - Velocity Europe 2014

1. Scaling Management Michael Rembetsy without Sacrificing Culture Velocity Barcelona – November 19, 2014 @mrembetsy Patrick McDonnell @mcdonnps

2. Agenda Presentation: 40 minutes Break: 5 minutes Decision roundtable: 45 minutes

3. About Etsy • 40 million members • 26 million active listings • 1 million active sellers • Over 25% of orders cross borders • $1.35 billion in GMS 2013

4. The early days 6

5. employees at end of 2008 Michael Rembetsy @mrembetsy 49 Patrick McDonnell @mcdonnps 7

6. Michael Rembetsy @mrembetsy Chad Dickerson Patrick McDonnell @mcdonnps 8

7. “This quote from Emerson really inspires me: ‘Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.’”

8. Phase I: Organizational Infancy (2008-2011)

9. What did managers do? 11

10. What did we lack? Michael Rembetsy @mrembetsy Patrick McDonnell @mcdonnps 12 • Salary bands • Skills matrix • 1:1s • Career path • IC / management path • Formalized recruiting and sourcing • Formalized feedback loops or reviews

11. Michael Rembetsy @mrembetsy Patrick McDonnell @mcdonnps Culture is action • Started creating action items around ideas • Beta testing processes around organization • How can engineering improve other departments? 13

12. Culture isn’t forced • Culture is fostered when entire organizations are on board with change Michael Rembetsy @mrembetsy Patrick McDonnell @mcdonnps • Culture is behavior • Dictatorships fail, leadership works 14

13. What did we start with? Michael Rembetsy @mrembetsy Skills matrix Salary bands 1:1s Reviews Patrick McDonnell @mcdonnps 15

14. Etsy’s Skills Matrix Individual Contributor Job Levels (Salaried) to include levels 3-6 for Member Ops Level LEVEL 1 LEVEL 2 LEVEL 3 LEVEL 4 LEVEL Description GAINING EXPERIENCE DEVELOPING CAREER ADVANCED EXPERT Analogy Knows about rope; learns a lot more about rope Can tie basic knots; Shown complex knots Calculates rope strength; Knows a lot about knots Understands rope making Knows will Knowledge Learns to use professional concepts. Applies company/technical practices, policies and procedures to resolve routine issues. Developing professional expertise, applies company/sound technical practices, policies and procedures to resolve a variety of issues. A seasoned, experienced professional with a full understanding of area of specialization; resolves a wide range of issues in creative ways. This job is the fully qualified, career-oriented, journey-level position. Having wide-ranging experience, uses professional concepts and company objectives to resolve complex is-sues in creative and effective ways. Some barriers to entry exist at this level (e.g., dept/peer review). Level at which career may plateau. Having knowledge, development and creative to entry review Job Complexity Works on problems of limited scope. Follows standard practices and proce-dures in analyzing situations or data from which answers can be readily obtained. Builds stable working rela-tionships internally. Works on problems of moderate scope where analysis of situations or data requires a review of a variety of factors. Exercises judgment within defined procedures and practices to determine appropriate action. Builds productive internal/external working relationships. Works on problems of diverse scope where analysis of data requires evalu-ation of identifiable factors. Demon-strates good judgment in selecting methods and techniques for obtaining solutions. Networks with senior inter-nal and external personnel in own area of expertise. Works on complex issues where analysis of situations or data requires an in-depth evaluation of variable fac-tors. Exercises judgment in selecting methods, techniques and evaluation criteria for obtaining results. Networks with key contacts outside own area of expertise. Works data in methods, criteria formal Supervision Normally receives detailed instruc-tions on most work. Normally receives general instructions on routine work, detailed instructions on new projects or assignments. Normally receives little instruction on day-to-day work, general instructions on new assignments. Determines methods and procedures on new assignments and may coor-dinate activities of other employees (Team Lead). Acts methods special the Management Job Levels Level LEVEL 1 LEVEL 2 LEVEL 3 LEVEL 4 LEVEL Example Title N/A SUPERVISOR MANAGER SENIOR MANAGER DIRECTOR Analogy Guides team while rock climbing Leads extended alpine mountain-climbing trips Pilots expedition through unexpected snow storm Controls hikers

16. Salary Band Example A B C D E F G Michael Rembetsy @mrembetsy Patrick McDonnell @mcdonnps 18

18. Michael Rembetsy @mrembetsy Patrick McDonnell @mcdonnps 20

22. Landing page

23. Self-evaluation

24. Peer feedback

25. Upward feedback

26. Feedback for reports

27. Results of first management initiatives Michael Rembetsy @mrembetsy Patrick McDonnell @mcdonnps • Direction • Clarity • Feedback • Perceived happiness 29

28. Michael Rembetsy @mrembetsy Patrick McDonnell @mcdonnps Early Managers • ICs with additional responsibilities • People, direction, salaries • Hired guns from outside • We had to hire management talent instead of growing it because we didn’t know how 30

29. Increased knowledge sharing • Started offsites (both teams and managers) • Rock climbing, bowling, “escape the room” • Concentrated tech leadership meetings • Centralized project management and workflow collaboration Michael Rembetsy @mrembetsy Patrick McDonnell @mcdonnps 31

30. Knowledge is power • Solidified standards and direction • More collaboration between managers • Focus on the company rather than the team • Engineering “generosity of spirit” Michael Rembetsy @mrembetsy Patrick McDonnell @mcdonnps 32

31. number of managers as in 2008 Michael Rembetsy @mrembetsy 6x number of engineers as in 2008 8x Patrick McDonnell @mcdonnps 33 177 employees

32. Michael Rembetsy @mrembetsy Bobby Gormsen Patrick McDonnell @mcdonnps 34

33. Michael Rembetsy @mrembetsy Rasmus Lerdorf Patrick McDonnell @mcdonnps 35

34. Phase II: Supported Growth (2011-present)

35. Michael Rembetsy @mrembetsy Patrick McDonnell @mcdonnps Manager magic pixie dust

36. Michael Rembetsy @mrembetsy Marc Hedlund Patrick McDonnell @mcdonnps 38

37. Michael Rembetsy @mrembetsy Patrick McDonnell @mcdonnps 381 employees near end of 2011 8x headcount growth over 3 years 39

38. Learning & Development Launches Michael Rembetsy @mrembetsy Paloma Medina Patrick McDonnell @mcdonnps 40

39. Reflect Acquire Insight Practice Michael Rembetsy @mrembetsy Patrick McDonnell @mcdonnps 41

40. Reflect Acquire Insight Practice Michael Rembetsy @mrembetsy Patrick McDonnell @mcdonnps 41 Dens

42. Michael Rembetsy @mrembetsy Patrick McDonnell @mcdonnps Den sessions • 8 people to a den is ideal (5 for remote dens) • IC dens and manager dens are separate • Foster empathy across departments • Build long-lasting support networks for managers outside of the dens 43

43. Michael Rembetsy @mrembetsy Patrick McDonnell @mcdonnps Den Rules • Safe confidential place to share stories and best practices • What happens in the den stays in the den • Facilitator required 44

44. 2013 2014 Michael Rembetsy @mrembetsy 91 Patrick McDonnell @mcdonnps 45 31 3 13 Dens Participants

45. Reflect Acquire Insight Practice Michael Rembetsy @mrembetsy Patrick McDonnell @mcdonnps 46 Dens

46. Reflect Acquire Insight Practice Michael Rembetsy @mrembetsy Patrick McDonnell @mcdonnps 46 Dens Workshops

47. Michael Rembetsy @mrembetsy Patrick McDonnell @mcdonnps

48. Reflect Acquire Insight Practice Michael Rembetsy @mrembetsy Patrick McDonnell @mcdonnps 48 Dens Workshops

49. Reflect Acquire Insight Practice Michael Rembetsy @mrembetsy Patrick McDonnell @mcdonnps 48 Dens Workshops Practice Labs

51. Were we successful? 50

52. Michael Rembetsy @mrembetsy Patrick McDonnell @mcdonnps Retooling • Some things worked, some didn’t • Design Gym wasn’t the right fit • Dens and workshops are major components to this day • L&D rock band 51

53. L&D works, let’s grow it! Jenn Coombs Michael Rembetsy @mrembetsy Patrick McDonnell @mcdonnps 52 Romy Weisfelt

54. Manager Onboarding System (MOS) • Care package with helpful hints • First HR business partner session with manager • New manager dens and roundtables • Meeting with Paloma to customize your L&D experience Michael Rembetsy @mrembetsy Patrick McDonnell @mcdonnps 53

58. Conflict resolution Michael Rembetsy @mrembetsy Patrick McDonnell @mcdonnps • Are you triggered? • Negotiation • Hard conversations • Intervention sessions 57

59. Roundtables get serious Michael Rembetsy @mrembetsy John Goulah Patrick McDonnell @mcdonnps 58

60. Types of roundtables Michael Rembetsy @mrembetsy Patrick McDonnell @mcdonnps • Best practices • Council • Systems reviews • Decision 59

61. Break Time: 5 Minutes

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